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PC build help


osi
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Hey y'all, my shop is bit behind on the times and we're about to introduce Mastercam into the workplace. I'm not entirely sure as to how much I spend on a rig to optimally use the software. We DO NOT have any 5 axis machines. Only 3 Axis with the newest machine being a Haas VF9. With that in mind, I'm guessing the load for toolpaths, etc wouldn't be nearly as resource heavy as if we were doing 5 axis 3d mapping/toolpaths? If I wanted to make sure that the PC build will suffice in ~3-5 years time with updates to the software how much am I realistically looking at?

 

Here is a suggested build I asked for on reddit, seems to be on the modest side. I haven't been greenlit a budget so far but I'm guessing around the 2k - 2.5krange is what my budget will be.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/67FwjZ

 

any input is much appreciated!

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The longer you  want the use the same computer the more you have to spend to no be paying a heavy price at the end of it's life. 

I buy my laptops to last 3 years. As a consequence they tend to run my company between $4,500 and $5,500 depending on video card pricing. 

A similarly configured desktop would most likely run around $3k. It's been forever since I priced desktops though so I could be way off. 

Buy the most you can afford then tack on 10%. 

"Minimum System Requirements" means Minimum performance given. 

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I come at this more from the support side of things...having done support for several years....

So many problems I saw were directly related to systems that simply were not up to the task....single biggest being video cards, followed by poor performance and long crunch times becasue the CPU & RAM..and to a smaller degree slow hard drives....

A business generally buys computers for the longer term. They don't replace them every year or two and as computer demands change they NEED to be at least slightly ahead of where they are NOW.

What I would consider a minimal CAD/CAM system that's going to function well and not be outdated tomorrow is generally going to put you in the $2500-$3500 range.

CAM systems like CPU clock & bus speed 1st, Video card 2nd and RAM 3rd....

My last system, which died last September and had been with me since July of 2015 we even still better spec'd than what you're thinking....

Spend it once and get something better or believe me, you'll end up buying another one sooner rather than later.

 

JM2C YMMV

 

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14 hours ago, osi said:

Hey y'all, my shop is bit behind on the times and we're about to introduce Mastercam into the workplace. I'm not entirely sure as to how much I spend on a rig to optimally use the software. We DO NOT have any 5 axis machines. Only 3 Axis with the newest machine being a Haas VF9. With that in mind, I'm guessing the load for toolpaths, etc wouldn't be nearly as resource heavy as if we were doing 5 axis 3d mapping/toolpaths? If I wanted to make sure that the PC build will suffice in ~3-5 years time with updates to the software how much am I realistically looking at?

 

Here is a suggested build I asked for on reddit, seems to be on the modest side. I haven't been greenlit a budget so far but I'm guessing around the 2k - 2.5krange is what my budget will be.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/67FwjZ

 

any input is much appreciated!

If you're not doing super complex work, you don't need anything over the top. Coming in under 3k should be easy. Lasting 5 years, shouldn't be a problem even with the parts you have there. Again, assuming non complex work and 'lasting' means the system won't get bogged down by future performance needs of Windows or Mastercam (I don't see any massive new tech coming from either anytime soon)

Saying that, a few small changes in that system would yield big gains. You have a 12th gen intel listed (i9 would be a better choice). you should build to its strengths. Its able to support waaaay faster RAM and also PCIE gen 4. You might need to pick a different MB if that one does not support those.

I'm in the 32GB of RAM club, but I would get reputable components so if you want to add a couple more sticks in a few years, you will be able to get the same stuff.

One thing not listed in your build, you should have dual or even triple monitors. If you don't have them now, add a matching pair. A better video card is not a bad idea either but the one listed will work.

Also a good idea to add some bulk storage, 4TB or more HDD.

 

....and get good components, not just the cheapest.

 

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10 hours ago, mwearne said:

If you're not doing super complex work, you don't need anything over the top. Coming in under 3k should be easy. Lasting 5 years, shouldn't be a problem even with the parts you have there. Again, assuming non complex work and 'lasting' means the system won't get bogged down by future performance needs of Windows or Mastercam (I don't see any massive new tech coming from either anytime soon)

Saying that, a few small changes in that system would yield big gains. You have a 12th gen intel listed (i9 would be a better choice). you should build to its strengths. Its able to support waaaay faster RAM and also PCIE gen 4. You might need to pick a different MB if that one does not support those.

I'm in the 32GB of RAM club, but I would get reputable components so if you want to add a couple more sticks in a few years, you will be able to get the same stuff.

One thing not listed in your build, you should have dual or even triple monitors. If you don't have them now, add a matching pair. A better video card is not a bad idea either but the one listed will work.

Also a good idea to add some bulk storage, 4TB or more HDD.

 

....and get good components, not just the cheapest.

 

 Would you make any tweaks to this? https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ddBcVw

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2 hours ago, osi said:

 Would you make any tweaks to this? https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ddBcVw

Looks good! I'm programming moulds with multiaxis paths on a 10 year old pc (i7 and 32gb ram). For sure it could be faster but if you're mostly doing 2D paths and simple 3D paths it wouldn't make a difference.

How big are your parts you're programming?

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7 hours ago, Simon Kausch said:

Looks good! I'm programming moulds with multiaxis paths on a 10 year old pc (i7 and 32gb ram). For sure it could be faster but if you're mostly doing 2D paths and simple 3D paths it wouldn't make a difference.

How big are your parts you're programming?

We're a job shop so it varies!

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On 10/3/2022 at 9:10 PM, #Rekd™ said:

Pay it forward if you want it to last 5 years. 64GB of RAM would be a bare minimum, 128 is better.

Get a good video card like an RTXA4000.

Your budget is way light to last 5 years IMHO.

Wow you are spoiled :), im in need of a new system at work, im begging them to put 16 gigs of memory into it, but they dont want to spend that HUGE amount of money.

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4 hours ago, Grimes said:

Wow you are spoiled :), im in need of a new system at work, im begging them to put 16 gigs of memory into it, but they dont want to spend that HUGE amount of money.

Imagine to their surprise how much that RAM costs BECAUSE they don't buy it. 

 

Purchases can certainly cost money. But they only cost once, but non-purchases like that??? Those. They cost over and over, and over, and over again. EVERY. SINGLE. OPERATION. EVERY. SINGLE PROJECT. EVERY SINGLE TIME.

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3 hours ago, cncappsjames said:

Imagine to their surprise how much that RAM costs BECAUSE they don't buy it. 

 

Purchases can certainly cost money. But they only cost once, but non-purchases like that??? Those. They cost over and over, and over, and over again. EVERY. SINGLE. OPERATION. EVERY. SINGLE PROJECT. EVERY SINGLE TIME.

i messed up, meant to say 32 gigs, but when i asked them they said you get paid by the hour, so what do you care.

 

of course a week or so later, theyre gonna be asking why parts are taking so long. 

 

you just cant win.:)

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2 minutes ago, cncappsjames said:

32 is a little thin unless you're doing 2D work.

Depends on the scale of the work.  I recently went to 64 for headroom, but was doing fine with 32, even with an array of 98 parts in a sheet and stock models at .01mm tolerance.  But each part is small and simple compared to what many of you guys do.

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On 10/9/2022 at 12:26 PM, Grimes said:

Wow you are spoiled :), im in need of a new system at work, im begging them to put 16 gigs of memory into it, but they dont want to spend that HUGE amount of money.

They are saving nickels but costing themselves dollars in lost performance.  I want a system that will still perform well in 3-5 years without upgrading. 

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For me to go from 64GB to 128GB on my rig (see siggy) is $185.28

I like Crucial. https://www.crucial.com/store/systemscanner

Looking at it... I'm going to seriously consider making the jump myself. I'm working on a couple simulation projects that are taking my RAM usage up past 60GB. I was thinking it was going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $300. Food for thought.

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  • 4 weeks later...
8 hours ago, joan55 said:

I’ve never had a problem with this myself, but I have had several people ask me whether their can LINK REMOVED can support 16GB of RAM, so I figured it was worth writing an article about it to clear up the confusion.

The website is known for hacking and spamming according to my Firewall Software. Nice try Spammer.

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